In a House With Unlocked Doors… Part Twenty-three
International Superthings
By Sharon Mitchell
For a lot of bands, the issuing of a greatest hits compilation pretty much signals the end of their careers. Not so with Green Day. Theirs came out in late 2001 but they are still in business, twelve years onwards, and could actually fill another couple of albums with the singles that they have released since International Superhits went on sale.
Superhits was released in November 2001, and featured two completely new tracks, as well as the song JAR (Jason Andrew Relva) which had previously only been available as part of the soundtrack to the film Angus. It’s one of the rare tracks that was written by Mike, and actually serves to prove that he should write more.
The rest of the album is comprised of singles (including that elusive Macy’s Day Parade), with the whole thing introduced by a clip from the interview with a five-year old Billie Joe which formed the b-side to the Look for Love single way back in 1977. Wonderful.
At around the same time, they produced a video compilation (later a dvd), called International Supervideos, their first official venture into this area of the market. This featured the 14 videos that accompanied the single releases, plus Last Ride In which is actually not on the cd! I have this on both dvd and VHS, along with a t-shirt – an International Supershirt, of course – that was issued as part of the promotion for the album.
As well as the basic cd, I also have the audio cassette, factory sealed, plus the Japanese issue, a card-sleeved 7 track album sampler, and a full length Reprise album promotional disc. The vinyl was produced in a gorgeous shocking magenta/purple colour and the re-issue was in black, but heavier grade vinyl. To complete the collection of music, I have the singles for JAR (a promo), and for Poprocks and Coke and Maria, both of which had very limited release.
And what Supercollection would be complete without the Super Action Figures? I got Mike first, paying just a few pounds for him, and Tre followed soon after, but Billie was a different matter. If I found him, he was very expensive, or in an eBay auction that threatened to get out of hand. I posted a photograph of the two figures I already had on Facebook, and a friend messaged me – I have some truly wonderful friends! He had found one for £26 – very cheap, and apparently in good condition. I bought him, and my set was complete – or so I thought. A little while later another friend told me of a set of three boxed together for £35. I pounced, and my International Supercollection got supersized!
